The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) has been known for some time. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymers of relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of free radical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. U.K. 1,081,304 produced similar polymers of higher carbon monoxide content in the presence of alkyl-phosphine complexes of palladium as catalyst. Nozaki extended the reaction to produce linear alternating polymers in the presence of arylphosphine complexes of palladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,412.
More recently, the class of linear alternating polymers of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon has become of greater interest in part because of the greater availability of the polymers. More recent processes for the production of such polymers, now becoming known as polyketones or polyketone polymers, are illustrated by a number of published European Patent Applications including 121,965, 181,014, 213,671, and 257,633. The process, now broadly conventional, generally involves the use of a catalyst formed from a compound of a Group VIII metal selected from palladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a non-hydrohalogenic acid having a pKa below about 6, preferably below 2, and a bidentate ligand of phosphorous, arsenic, antimony or nitrogen.
The polyketone polymers have been shown to be of the repeating formula --CO--A-- wherein A is a moiety of ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon polymerized through the ethylenic unsaturation. By way of specific illustration, when the ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon is ethylene, the polymer will be represented by the repeating formula --CO--C.sub.2 H.sub.4 --. The polyketone polymers are relatively high molecular materials having established utility in the production by known methods of shaped articles having a variety of utilities. Although the polyketone polymers have a number of desirable properties, it is, on occasion, useful to provide for the modification of polyketone properties as by the production of functionalized polymers, i.e., polymers derived from polyketones which contain a plurality of functional groups. One method of polymer functionalization of the polyketone polymer is to chemically modify the polyketone polymer, particularly at the carbonyl groups. For example, the polyketone polymer is catalytically hydrogenated to produce the corresponding polyol or the polymer is reacted with ammonia and hydrogen to produce a polyamine. An alternative method of providing a functionalized polymer is to provide, in place of at least some of the ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon, an olefinic compound containing at least one functional group. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,937 discloses the production of a linear alternating terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and maleic anhydride. It would be of advantage, however, to provide for additional polyketone polymers wherein the monomeric units contain functional groups.